Sinbad the Sailor

Sinbad the Sailor appears in the
Thousand and One Nights,
a collection of Persian, Arab, and Indian tales written down between the
800s and the 1400s. A merchant from the city of Baghdad in the Near East,
Sinbad made seven voyages to lands and islands around the Indian Ocean. He
had great adventures, survived numerous dangers, and acquired many riches
during his travels.

On Sinbad's first voyage, he and his crew visited an island that turned
out to be a huge sleeping whale. When they lit a fire, the whale woke up
and dived underwater. Sinbad was picked up by another ship and taken home.
The second voyage took Sinbad to a desert island, where he discovered an
enormous egg belonging to a giant bird called a roc. When the bird
appeared, Sinbad grabbed its claw and was carried away to the Valley of
Diamonds. Eventually rescued by merchants, he returned to Baghdad laden
with diamonds.

During Sinbad's third voyage, the hero was captured by dwarfs and taken to
the home of a one-eyed giant. The giant started eating members of his
crew. Sinbad managed to escape but was lured to another island by a
serpent that tried to swallow him. Once again, Sinbad got away and was
rescued by a passing ship. Shipwrecked on his fourth voyage, Sinbad and
his crew were taken prisoner by cannibals who planned to eat them. The
hero escaped, arrived at a strange kingdom, and married the king's
daughter. When she died, however, Sinbad was buried alive with her. He
succeeded in getting away again.

On Sinbad's fifth voyage, his ship was destroyed by angry rocs, which
dropped huge stones from the air. Washed ashore on an island, he met and
killed the Old Man of the Sea. The sixth voyage saw Sinbad once again
shipwrecked on an island. There he found precious stones and visited the
city of Serendib, whose king sent him home with more wealth. Sinbad
returned to Serendib on his final voyage. On the way home he was attacked
by pirates, who sold him into slavery. While working as an elephant hunter
for the merchant who bought him, Sinbad discovered an elephant burial
ground and a huge store of ivory tusks. The merchant gave Sinbad his
freedom and enough ivory to make him rich. His final adventure over,
Sinbad returned home to Baghdad.